Vibrant Nicoise raises the bar for entrée salads

Nicoise salad is a mixed salad that typically includes tuna, tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, olives and egg, all with a mustard-shallot vinaigrette. You can compose this to serve or put all the ingredients in separate dishes. But I like to serve the components arranged on one large platter. It's like a miniature salad bar, letting people pick what they like best.JILL L. REED, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

One of the great things about writing this column is that it means colleagues know I like to cook and my family likes to eat. Because of this, I am often the recipient of some lovely ingredients. I have been given all manner of things, including paprika from someone's trip to Hungary, truffle salt that someone could not use, and all sorts of herbs from backyard gardens. Recently I was given tomatoes from the garden of one coworker and blue fin tuna caught by the partner of another coworker.

I knew the fish would need to be used as soon as possible for it to be at its best. I also knew that I had some boiled red potatoes and blanched green beans that were leftover from another dinner. With those four main components in place, it seemed like a natural to put together a Nicoise salad.

Nicoise is a French word, pronounced "nee-swaz." It's a salad that, because of the many components, is hearty and satisfying enough for dinner. Pair it with warm, crusty bread. In addition to a base of lettuce, the salad features tuna, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, hard-boiled eggs and olives.

One of the most well-known recipes for Nicoise salad is from Julia Child. Her version uses canned chunk tuna, which is a great time-saving option and great for people who don't care for rare fish. I also have made this in the past with grilled chicken - it's not traditional, but it's good if one of your diners is not a fish eater.

I could picture the salad in my mind as I was going about prepping things. It would be colorful and vibrant. I wanted to arrange things all together on a platter; it would be not so much a composed salad, but more of an array of ingredients, which would let each of us choose what we liked best and customize our dinners.

The dressing is a vinaigrette with shallots and mustard and basil. To make this, I just toss all the ingredients into a large mason jar, put the lid on and shake the heck out of it to combine. It is an easy process, and the jar of dressing can go right into the fridge so leftovers can be used another day.

If you plan ahead, making this for dinner will be a breeze. I highly recommend the leftover trick: Cook enough potatoes and green beans to use for a couple of dinners. Cook once, eat twice to save a lot of time. The eggs can also be cooked ahead.

I waited until just before serving to sear the tuna on very high heat on the grill. Then I sliced it and added it to the dish. It was perfect and just warm when we sat down to dinner.

When I make things like this, I do sometimes worry that Ben, 2, will turn his nose up at it. In this case, I was pretty sure the lettuce would be rejected. And I was right.

But in looking at the plate, I realized there were many of his favorite things here: potatoes, green beans, tomatoes and eggs. Even if he ate only those things and passed on the very rare fish, he would not go hungry.

Turns out I didn't need to worry. My fish-loving kid dived right into dinner, snapping up the little bits of seared blue fin on his plate and asking for more.

He dip-dip-dipped ingredients into the vinaigrette as he ate, asking me what it was and what was in it. I told him "Mustard, garlic, vinegar, herbs, olive oil ..." Before I could get to the anchovy paste, he stopped to ask me "What is olive oil?"

The conversation also included telling him that Mark, mommy's coworker, had grown the tomatoes and that Ben had met Mark and seen his garden. He loved that. And he loved hearing about how another person had gone fishing and caught the tuna. He asked if he could go fishing next time, because he wanted to "get a bite."

It makes me so happy to have these little discussions with him about what he is eating, even if it means trying to explain to a toddler how olive oil is made.

Nicoise salad is a mixed salad that typically includes tuna, tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, olives and egg, all with a mustard-shallot vinaigrette. You can compose this to serve or put all the ingredients in separate dishes. But I like to serve the components arranged on one large platter. It's like a miniature salad bar, letting people pick what they like best. JILL L. REED, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Hard-boiled eggs are one of several components in a Nicoise salad. JILL L. REED, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Green beans are a traditional component of a Nicoise salad. These can be cooked ahead or cooked as you prep the other things, then cooled quickly in an ice water bath. JILL L. REED, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Serving the many components of a Nicoise salad on a big platter means people can take as much or as little of the items they like best. Bibb lettuce makes a nice base for the salad, but most any lettuce will work. JILL L. REED, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Tuna, seasoned with salt and pepper, is grilled very quickly over high heat just to sear it. The tuna in this version of Nicoise is blue fin. But for those who don't like rare fish, fully cooked tuna or salmon works well. To make it extra easy, use high-quality canned tuna. Grilled chicken would be a good choice for those who don't like fish at all. JILL L. REED, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Olives and tomatoes add color and tang to a Nicoise salad. JILL L. REED, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
I used kalamata olives since that is what I had on hand. If you don't have olives, capers can add a similar briny flavor. JILL L. REED, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Forget whisking, put all the ingredients of this mustard-shallot vinaigrette into a jar and shake it well. I keep a few mason jars in the cupboard for just this purpose. JILL L. REED, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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